Home Blog Page 255

PBI-Colombia highlights Embera struggle to defend territory from concessions first secured by Canadian mining company

By
Brent Patterson
-

Photo: PBI-Colombia accompanies the Justice and Peace Commission in the community of Alto Guayabal from the Uradá-Jiguamiandó Reservation.

On February 9, the Peace Brigades International-Colombia Project published the article: The Embera Defending Their Sacred Territory.

The article begins: “Traveling by horseback through the Bajo Atrato, between the departments of Antioquia and Chocó, is the ‘Careperro’ or Jaika Tuma mountain, revered a sacred site for the Embera Eyabida Indigenous peoples.”

“The Atrato River, which flows through both departments and into the Caribbean Sea, is inhabited by a multitude of Afro-Colombian, mixed-race, and Indigenous communities. Many of these communities are accompanied by the Justice and Peace Commission, an organization accompanied by PBI since 1994.”

“Among these, along the banks of the Jiguamiandó River—a tributary of the Atrato—and close to the Jaika Tuma mountain, are eight communities of Embera people who are organized in the Uradá-Jiguamiandó Indigenous Reservation.”

“Argemiro Bailar [has] received numerous threats and attacks against his life as one of the most emblematic leaders of the Uradá-Jiguamiandó Reservation and a member of the highest governance body of the Indigenous authority—the Major Council.”

Their article then highlights:

“In early 2005, the ‘Mandé Norte’ mining megaproject was established, within which the Governor’s Office of Antioquia granted nine mining exploration and extraction titles to the Canadian multinational Muriel Mining Corporation to mine gold, copper, and molybdenum on 16,000 hectares of land in the departments of Antioquia (municipality of Murindó) and Chocó (municipality of Carmen del Darién). A significant part of the mining concession was on the Embera people’s Indigenous Reservation, including the sacred mountain.”

“The Muriel Mining Corporation’s activities, which began in 2009, generated a fierce opposition from the ancestral communities who organized to defend their sacred territory.”

“[The transnational Minera Copper SAS] —which signed an agreement with Muriel Mining Company in 2015 and was able to transfer the aforementioned titles—is currently trying to coopt some leaders from the region to simulate a prior consultation. There is a risk that this could break down the internal social fabric and lead to a re-initiation of extractive activities on the sacred mountain and surrounding territories.”

The article concludes: “[The communities] protect their land from environmental impacts as they fight for peace, Indigenous sovereignty, and against the ecological crisis.”

The full article can be read at The Embera Defending Their Sacred Territory.

Additional Canadian context

The Embera struggle against the Muriel Mining Corporation in 2005 was preceded by the passage of Colombia’s Mining Code in 2001.

The Inter Press Service (IPS) has reported: “Beginning in 1997, CIDA–the international assistance arm of the Canadian government–partnered with Martinez Cordoba and Associates, a Colombian law firm representing several multinational companies, and CERI, the Canadian Energy Research Institute, an industry think-tank based at the University of Calgary, to rewrite Colombia’s mining code.”

Colombian lawyer Francisco Ramirez Cuellar has commented this constituted a “Canadian manipulation to benefit foreign companies to the detriment of Colombians” and that it “flexibilised environmental regulations, diminished labour guarantees for workers and opened the property of Afro-Colombian and indigenous people to exploitation.”

(In 2013, the Canadian government announced that CIDA would be folded into the Department of Foreign Affairs, later renamed Global Affairs Canada.)

In 2019, according to Natural Resources Canada, 23 Canadian mining companies held assets there totalling $1.38 billion. And the Colombian National Agency of Mining has stated Canadian companies hold 42 mining titles for copper, silver and gold. 

Further reading: Embera reject mining on their lands, say that any investment would be “stained with our blood”.

Still from PBI-Colombia video, May 2012.

PBI-Mexico present as court orders release of three Purépecha defenders criminalized for seeking Indigenous governance

By
Brent Patterson
-

On February 9, the Peace Brigades International-Mexico Project tweeted: “Today we were present together with social organizations and members of the indigenous community of #Nahuatzen who celebrated in front of the @SCJN [Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation] the immediate release order for 3 defenders imprisoned since 2018. We join the celebration for #NahuatzenLibre [Free Nahuatzen].”

PBI-Mexico also tweeted: “The Supreme Court recognized that there were serious violations of human rights against the community defenders of #Nahuatzen, who seek to exercise their right to self-determination, and therefore ordered their absolute and immediate release.”

Nahuatzen is a municipality in the Mexican state of Michoacán. The community is situated about 400 kilometres west of Mexico City.

Atiempo.mx explains: “The indigenous leaders were arrested in 2018 and sentenced to seven years in prison for ‘seeking that Nahuatzen was recognized as an indigenous municipality’ where they could choose their authorities according to their customs.”

They had led the process to establish a new government without political parties, shaped by the uses and customs of their community.

They were accused of “sabotage” for riots that occurred on November 1, 2018, despite the fact they were not present in Nahuatzen that day. Their imprisonment was interpreted as retaliation “for having expelled the political parties from their community.”

The Supreme Indigenous Council of Michoacán denounced their arrests three years ago and determined that they were political prisoners.

Excelsior reports: “The First Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) [has now] ordered the immediate and unconditional release of the Purépecha leaders José Gerardo Talavera Pineda, José Antonio Arreola Jiménez and José Luis Jiménez Meza.”

That article also notes: “The members of the Indigenous Citizen Council of Nahuatzen, in the state of Michoacán, were arrested on November 1, 2018, for demanding that their community be recognized as an indigenous municipality, so that the election of their authorities is governed by customs, without the participation of political parties.”

And it further highlights: “It was also possible to prove that the three accused were victims of torture, so Michoacán state authorities were ordered to investigate the facts, to punish those responsible.”

Significantly, the Supreme Court of Justice decision recognizes the right of indigenous people to “enjoy the recognition of cultural diversity and to rely on rights such as self-determination, self-government, the application of their own self-regulatory systems, to land, territory and its natural resources, and full access to the jurisdiction of the State.”

This joint statement from civil society organizations highlights: “The verdict of the highest court represents an important precedent for all indigenous communities in Mexico who, like José Antonio and José Luis, face criminalisation, persecution, violence and displacement due to their exercise of their rights as indigenous communities.”

Video: The moment at the Supreme Court of Justice when members of the Nahuatzen community heard the ruling that orders the release of their community authorities.

Presentation to Sustainability and Environment in the Global South, Carleton University

By
Brent Patterson
-

It is a pleasure to be able to speak with you today on an issue related to Sustainability and Environment in the Global South.

I would like to speak with you about a community fighting to protect its water from extractivism (in the form of an iron oxide mine), how Canada appears to have contributed to this situation, how environmental defenders resisted this mine, how they have been criminalized and judicialized, and some of our responsibilities in situations such as these.

TIMELINE of the struggle to defend the Guapinol River

January 23, 2013: A new General Mining Law passes in Honduras that lifts a seven-year moratorium on new mining projects. The law fails to ensure the protection of water sources vital to communities, imposes limits on citizen participation, and prohibits areas being created that would be free of mining.

MiningWatch Canada says: “This law was developed and passed with strong diplomatic support from the Canadian embassy, and with contributions from the Department of Foreign Affairs and the former Canadian International Development Agency.”

April 2013: Emco Mining (now Inversiones Los Pinares) requests two mining concessions in the Montaña de Botaderos Carlos Escaleras Mejía National Park.

December 16, 2013: The Honduran Congress cuts 217 hectares from the core zone of the park from which construction was prohibited. On January 28, 2014, the first licence is granted to Emco Mining for their planned open-pit iron oxide mine.

The Guardian reports: “The massive open pit mine, owned by one of the country’s most powerful couples, was sanctioned without community consultation inside a protected national park in a process mired by irregularities, according to international experts.”

2017: The Municipal Committee for the Defence of Public and Common Goods is created and calls for public consultations so that community members can decide whether they wanted a mine in their area.

March 2018: The company begins building an access road to the planned mine site and community members reports that the Guapinol River, a vital source of drinking water for them, has become muddied.

The Guardian reports: “The tap water in Guapinol turned chocolate brown and thick with muddy sediment. Residents were forced to buy bottled water to drink, cook and even bathe after children began suffering from diarrhea, while some adults reported skin complaints.”

Juana Ramona Zuñiga (whose husband José Abelino Cedillo was arrested in February 2019 for his involvement in this struggle) says: “[Los Pinares] ruined our river … We couldn’t use water for anything, that’s why we organized, that’s our struggle.”

August 1, 2018: The community establishes a Camp in Defence of Water and Life that blocks the construction of the access road.

October 27, 2018: More than 1,500 police officers and military personnel begin the forceful expulsion of the protest camp from the road worksite.

December 8, 2018: Guapinol water defender Jeremías Martínez Díaz is imprisoned.

February 20, 2019: Community members file a complaint with the government about the lack of transparency on the mining concession granted to Inversiones Los Pinares.

September 1, 2019: Seven more water defenders are imprisoned.

The eight water defenders are charged with the unjust detention of a Los Pinares security guard, aggravated arson, and aggravated arson against the company.

November 2019: In a town hall meeting, the municipality of Tocoa declares itself free of mining and demands that Los Pinares leaves the area.

January 20, 2019: Two thousand people from 24 communities gather at the Municipal Summit for Water and Life organized by the Municipal Committee in Defence of Common and Public Goods in Tocoa and declare their opposition to the Los Pinares mine.

February 2021: The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detentions concludes that the imprisonment of the Guapinol defenders is arbitrary and urges the Honduran State to release them immediately.

July 1, 2021: The Municipal Committee of Tocoa convenes a press conference with the representation of the Guapinol communities, and the 13 communities in the San Pedro sector, to present a Technical Report that highlights that the road section that serves as access to the mine area is contaminating with sediments the Guapinol and San Pedro rivers.

August 11, 2021: Seven of the water defenders at Olanchito prison (since September 1, 2019).

November 17, 2021: Jeremías Martínez Díaz at La Ceiba prison (since December 8, 2018).

December 1, 2021: The Guapinol 8 go on trial.

January 2022: Guapinol community members show us the importance of the river in the lives of the people who live in the area.

February 2, 2022: A gathering outside the courthouse in Tocoa marks 29 months of illegal detention for seven of the Guapinol River defenders.

February 4, 2022: The trial concludes.

That day, the Canadian Embassy for Honduras (based in Costa Rica) tweets: “Canada is closely following the trial #Guapinol , and advocates a trial with strict adherence to due process and considering the obligations of the state of #Honduras with respect to the protection of the #DDHH , including the ruling of the working group of the UN on arbitrary arrests.”

TODAY February 9, 2022: Six of the eight defenders are found guilty of guilty of aggravated damages and simple damages against the Los Pinares and unjust deprivation of liberty, plus aggravated damages, against the company’s security guard.

Jeremías Martínez Díaz, arbitrarily detained for 39 months (since December 8, 2018), is acquitted as is Arnol Javier Alemán.

Prior to the verdict, their lawyer Edy Tabora cautions: “They [the company and the court] want to teach and send a lesson to all the social movements in the country that the extractive company is powerful enough to criminalize all those people who oppose energy mining projects in the country.”

February 21, 2022: The six defenders will be sentenced. The Prosecutor’s Office is seeking a jail term of 36 years for the environmental defenders.

Orvin Hernández, one of the defenders found guilty today, says: “It’s a mistake to trust the justice system in this country. The people know it works in favor of transnationals and private business.”

Presently: Los Pinares continues its projects despite the community’s rejection of them.

EFE reports: “Los Pinares has installed a processing plant for iron oxide pellets in the municipality of Tocoa, department of Colón and has requested an ‘expansion of the area of the concession from 100 hectares to 1,000 hectares.”

For the defenders of the Guapinol River, the struggle continues.

 

PBI-Honduras accompanies Guapinol and San Pedro communities as verdict to be delivered today

By
Brent Patterson
-

This morning, PBI-Honduras tweeted: “PBI accompanies the communities of Guapinol and San Pedro in the moments before knowing the decision of the 8 defenders of the river. Restlessness, but also hope and courage, are currently flooding the camp at the door of the judicial palace in Tocoa.”

PBI-Honduras has accompanied for more than 3 years the defenders of the Guapinol River. It says: “We remain by your side and we trust that the liberation and integral reparation established by the United Nations will be fulfilled.”

It is feared that the defenders could be sentenced to 36 years in prison.

Lawyer Edy Tabora says: “They want to teach and send a lesson to all the social movements in the country that the extractive company is powerful enough to criminalize all those people who oppose energy mining projects in the country.”

Tabora has further commented that the Honduran Public Ministry has shown in the Guapinol case that “it is at the service of private enterprise and that the extractive company dictates the guidelines of what to do in each judicial process.”

That said, Tabora says that the trial legally “is won”, so the ruling should be an acquittal in favor of the environmentalists.

We will be updating this page as news of the judgement becomes available.

8:53 am – PBI-Honduras is present as the bus carrying the Guapinol River defenders arrives at the court house.

9:24 am – PBI-Honduras waits inside the courtroom.

10:18 am – The defenders arrive in the courtroom.

 

PBI-Honduras accompanies the Indigenous Lenca community of Tierras del Padre as they face eviction this morning

By
Brent Patterson
-

This morning, PBI-Honduras tweeted: “PBI accompanies the Lenca indigenous community Tierras del Padre before the eviction ordered for today. @OACNUDHHN [the Office in Honduras of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights] urge the State to suspend its execution since guarantees and conditions for the effective protection of human rights are not observed.”

Yesterday, the UN in Honduras tweeted: “The Office urges the State to consider suspending its execution, for not observing the guarantees and conditions for the effective protection of the rights of the community, particularly its right to housing and food.”

This morning, Miriam Miranda of the Black Fraternal Organization of Honduras (OFRANEH) also tweeted: “At this time, the intention is to evict the Tierras del Padre Indigenous community, by order of the Facusse Clan, who believe they own the country. The community has a Royal Certificate, which gives them ancestral rights over their territory. We demand respect for ancestral law!”

At 7:40 am Honduras time, Radio HRN reported:

“A judicial eviction registered on Wednesday morning (02.09.2022) in the Tierras del Padre Lenca indigenous community, located on the southern exit of the Honduran capital, turned violent and had to be stopped.”

At about 6:30 in the morning, several police agents appeared in the area, ancestral to the Lenca ethnic group, located in the south-eastern direction of the department of Francisco Morazán, in order to evict the residents of the Lenca community.

In this sense, the residents of Tierras del Padre opposed the eviction and closed ranks to prevent the access of the uniformed men and, seeing that the actions continued, women and older adults began to cry and beg not to be removed from the land.

“We are protected by law, we are poor, we have nowhere to live, we are fighting so that the eviction does not take place,” said one of the residents.

The members of the indigenous community, which borders the municipality of San Buenaventura and Santa Ana, at kilometer 11 on the southern highway, called on President Xiomara Castro to intercede on their behalf.

The residents stated that they are not invaders. Human Rights representatives, for their part, are present on the site. The executing judge and a contingent of security elements confronted those affected, minutes before they received the order to stop the eviction.

According to what was reported until 7:00 in the morning, the authorities are in dialogue, in order to find a way out of the situation, where around 120 families would be affected by the eviction.”

The full article can be read at Pobladores indígenas lencas claman ayuda a Xiomara Castro ante desalojo en comunidad Tierra del Padre.

PBI-Canada watching as verdict to be read today in the trial of the Guapinol River defenders

By
Brent Patterson
-

Photo by Criterio.hn.

A court in Tocoa, Honduras will issue a judgement today on the Guapinol River defenders.

Yesterday, PBI-Canada watched via Zoom the conference titled “The Truth Behind the Guapinol Case: How the State fabricated a case to punish water defenders in Honduras” that took place at the Hotel Plaza Juan Carlos in Tegucigalpa.

The video of that conference can be seen here.

EFE reports: “The arrest of eight water defenders in Honduras for opposing [the Los Pinares iron oxide] mining project ‘is arbitrary’ and the process is full of ‘illegalities’ and ‘irregularities’, experts said Tuesday at a forum in which they called for the release of the accused.”

It is feared that the defenders could be sentenced to 36 years in prison.

Lawyer Edy Tabora says: “They want to teach and send a lesson to all the social movements in the country that the extractive company is powerful enough to criminalize all those people who oppose energy mining projects in the country.”

Tabora has further commented that the Honduran Public Ministry has shown in the Guapinol case that “it is at the service of private enterprise and that the extractive company dictates the guidelines of what to do in each judicial process.”

That said, Tabora says that the trial legally “is won”, so the ruling should be an acquittal in favor of the environmentalists.

Juana Zúniga, one of the leaders in the protection of the Guapinol River, also spoke at the conference yesterday in Tegucigalpa.

She says: “Defending water is not a crime, it is defending our life.”

The Peace Brigades International-Honduras Project has accompanied for more than 3 years the defenders of the Guapinol River. It says: “We remain by your side and we trust that the liberation and integral reparation established by the United Nations will be fulfilled.”

For more on yesterday’s conference, please see the EFE article Expertos: Proceso contra defensores en Honduras está lleno de irregularidades and the Criterio.hn report Con pruebas falsas y manipulaciones, el MP pretende encarcelar a los defensores de Guapinol.

PBI-Colombia accompanies Nydia Erika Bautista Foundation at sit-in at Truth Commission for victims of forced disappearance

By
Brent Patterson
-

On February 8, PBI-Colombia tweeted: “Now accompanying @nydia_erika [the Nydia Érika Bautista Foundation for Human Rights] and women from different territories victims of forced disappearance, in sit-in before @ComisionVerdadC [Commission for the Clarification of Truth, Coexistence and Non-Repetition].”

Earlier this week, the Nydia Érika Bautista Foundation also tweeted: “Sit-in before the Truth Commission of relatives of victims of forced disappearance! From 7 regions of the country, women, indigenous people, Afro-descendants, peasants, gather in Bogotá to draw up joint strategies to fight for the rights of our loved ones!”

And during the sit-in, the Truth Commission itself tweeted: “Organizations of relatives of disappeared persons today asked the @ComisionVerdadC for clarification and the truth about what happened to their loved ones.”

What is the Truth Commission?

The Commission has explained: “The Commission is an institution of the Colombian State, of constitutional rank, extrajudicial and independent from the government. It works closely with institutions to guarantee victims and Colombian society’s right to the truth.”

The task of the Commission is to “listen to the victims, witnesses and those responsible for the armed conflict in every sector, region and social condition in the country, in order to gain a broad and comprehensive narrative of the events and contexts that explain half a century of war.”

How many people were disappeared?

The International Commission on Missing Persons has noted: “As many as 120,000 people are missing from five decades of conflict in Colombia, and all sectors of society have been affected. Disappearances have been perpetrated by state actors, paramilitary and guerrilla groups, and organized crime.”

One of those many mission persons is Nydia Erika Bautista.

Yanette Bautista has been fighting against forced disappearances in Colombia since the disappearance of her 32-year-old sister Nydia Erika on August 30, 1987. Members of the Battalion of Intelligence and Counterintelligence of the Colombian National Army have been named as responsible for the disappearance of Nydia Erika.

What is the Nydia Erika Bautista Foundation?

Yanette established the Foundation in 1999 while in exile from Colombia.

PBI-Colombia has explained: “The Nydia Erika Bautista Foundation for Human Rights is an organization of relatives of the victims of forced disappearance from five regions around the country and an interdisciplinary group of lawyers, social workers and experts in social archives and communication, who accompany people who have suffered the disappearance of one or several loved ones.”

It adds: “A specific focus of the Foundation are cases of enforced disappearances of girls and women in the armed conflict and as a result of socio-political violence in the country, in which signs of gender violence have been identified.”

The Peace Brigades International-Colombia Project has accompanied the “Nydia Erika Bautista” Foundation occasionally since 2007 and fully since 2016.

Sandinista revolutionary Dora María Téllez faces years in jail after closed-door trial at El Chipote prison

By
Brent Patterson
-

Photo of Dora María Téllez by Carlos Herrera/Confidencial.

The Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights (CENIDH) has tweeted that Dora Maria Téllez will be sentenced on Thursday February 10 at 3 pm (4 pm EST).

The Prosecutor’s Office is seeking 15 years in jail for Téllez.

Three others, including Lesther Alemán, are also scheduled to be sentenced on February 10.

On February 4, The Guardian reported: “Two of the most emblematic figures of Nicaragua’s beleaguered opposition are facing years behind bars after being convicted of alleged acts of political conspiracy in trials campaigners and members of the international community called a sham.”

That article adds: “Téllez, a legendary guerrilla leader during the Sandinista revolution, was found guilty during a closed-door trial at the notorious El Chipote political prison in Nicaragua’s capital Managua on Thursday [February 3]. Téllez, 66, helped liberate the city of León during the final push against the Somoza dictatorship in 1979 and commanded the legendary storming of Nicaragua’s national palace the previous year.”

Furthermore, “Alemán, a former student leader who became an overnight celebrity for berating Nicaragua’s authoritarian president, Daniel Ortega, during a failed 2018 uprising, was also convicted of ‘conspiracy to damage national integrity’.”

Further reading: Daniel Ortega condemns the mythical former Sandinista guerrilla Dora María Téllez for “conspiracy” (El Pais)

PBI-Nicaragua Project

It is estimated that since April 2018 about 100,000 Nicaraguans have been forced into exile, mainly relocating to Spain, the US and Costa Rica.

PBI explains: “A first visit to Nicaragua in November 2018 quickly revealed that there was no possibility of establishing a project within the country, due to the level of repression and the inability of organisations to operate openly.”

It adds: “In order to respond to this context and the needs expressed by local organizations, in 2020 PBI launched a new accompaniment project in Costa Rica focused on providing support to exiled Nicaraguan human rights defenders and social movements.”

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights  has previously stated 23% of the Nicaraguans in exile are human rights defenders, 20% are students who took part in protests, while others include former soldiers, police, journalists and doctors.

“Nicaraguan voices in resistance”

PBI has recently posted the 13-chapter publication Nicaraguan voices in resistance.

One of those chapters – Environmental awareness awakens in Nicaragua – is written by Amaru Ruíz Alemán of Fundación del Río.

Ruiz comments: “The Nicaraguan state’s repression of land and human rights defenders has positioned the country as the deadliest in the world per capita for the defence of the environment and land in 2020.”

“The model of criminalisation used against environmental rights defenders in Nicaragua is repeated in many countries, where raising one’s voice means exposing oneself, or even having to move or go into exile to protect one’s physical integrity.”

He concludes: “We must continue to denounce the governments’ actions on environmental matters and contribute to creating a context for just development so as to avoid ongoing adverse impacts on ecosystems, territories, and communities.”

On Saturday November 6, 2021, Ruiz spoke from Glasgow on the PBI webinar on COP26 and environmental rights defenders. The following day, he spoke at a rally in London on the November 7th election in Nicaragua. In this photo, he is standing with Bianca Jagger and Mónica López Baltodano, an environmental lawyer and daughter of former Sandinista guerrilla commander Mónica Baltodano.

PBI-Honduras accompanies the National Network of Women Human Rights Defenders at memorial for Keyla Martínez

By
Brent Patterson
-

On February 8, PBI-Honduras tweeted: “One year after the violent death of Keyla Martínez in the custody of the National Police, PBI accompanied @RedDefensoras [National Network of Women Human Rights Defenders] in an act in memory of Keyla. From PBI, we remember the importance of clarifying Keyla’s femicide.”

On Facebook, PBI-Honduras adds: “According to University Institute for Democracy, Peace and Security data, 318 women were killed in 2021, which means that in Honduras every 27 hours with 33 minutes a woman dies violently. In addition, more than 95% of the cases go unpunished.”

On February 10, 2021, the BBC reported: “The death of a 26-year-old nursing student in police custody has caused outrage in Honduras.”

“Police arrested Keyla Martínez on Saturday night for allegedly being drunk and breaching the night-time curfew in place to curb the pandemic. She was taken to a police cell, where a female officer says she was found ‘close to death’ suspended from the cell door by her blouse. Police at first said it was suicide but forensic tests suggest she was killed.”

The article adds: “Women’s rights groups have called for justice both in street protests and on social media under the hashtag #JusticiaParaKeyla (#JusticeForKeyla).”

Last February, The Guardian also reported: “She was the latest victim in a relentless wave of misogynistic killings and state-sponsored violence in Honduras – one of the most dangerous and corrupt countries in the Americas.”

That article from last year further noted: “This week, security forces have teargassed protesters demanding truth and justice for the young nurse.”

In the decade before the 2009 coup in Honduras, 222 women were murdered annually. In the past five years, 381 have been killed on average annually.

Suyapa Martínez of the Centre for Women’s Studies – Honduras (CEM-H) says: “The militarization of the country since the coup has increased the threat to women’s lives, there are guns everywhere and we know the police have links to criminal gangs.”

On February 7 of this year, Tu Nota reported: “For the crime [against Keyla Martinez], the Special Prosecutor’s Office for Crimes Against Life obtained an opening order against the policeman Jarold Perdomo Sarmiento, accused by the Public Ministry of the crime of homicide.”

Honduras Now adds: “It’s been 1 yr since young nurse Keyla Martinez was murdered in the custody of the National police In La Esperanza. Only one police officer has been found guilty while there were at least 15 more agents present that evening & a structure giving orders.” 

Photo of Keyla Martínez.

Gidimt’en land defenders make submission to UN Human Rights Council; request field visit to Wet’suwet’en territory

By
Brent Patterson
-

This media release highlights that “Gidimt’en land defenders made a submission to the United Nations Human Rights Council’s Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous People on the ‘Militarization of Wet’suwet’en Lands and Canada’s Ongoing Violations.’”

Their submission “details how forced industrialization by Coastal GasLink and police militarization on Wet’suwet’en land is a violation of Canada’s international obligations as outlined in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).”

The submission states: “Ongoing human rights violations, militarization of Wet’suwet’en lands, forcible removal and criminalization of peaceful land defenders, and irreparable harm due to industrial destruction of Wet’suwet’en lands and cultural sites are occurring despite declarations by federal and provincial governments for reconciliation with Indigenous peoples.”

Gidimt’en Checkpoint spokesperson Sleydo’ says: “We urge the United Nations to conduct a field visit to Wet’suwet’en territory because Canada and BC [British Columbia] have not withdrawn RCMP [Royal Canadian Mounted Police] from our territory and have not suspended Coastal GasLink’s permits, despite the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination calling on them to do so.”

She adds: “Wet’suwet’en is an international frontline to protect the rights of Indigenous peoples and to prevent climate change. Yet we are intimidated and surveilled by armed RCMP, smeared as terrorists, and dragged through colonial courts. This is the reality of Canada.”

This request comes a week before more than thirty water protectors will appear in the Supreme Court of British Columbia in Prince George on February 14 following the RCMP raid on their territory in November 2021.

The media statement can be read in full here. The full text of the 7-page submission to the UN Human Rights Council can be read here.

1...254255256...476Page 255 of 476